Nature of Source
Records of those involved employed in the extraction of coal. Modern coalmining began from the early 18th century with coal miners frequently changing places of work.
After WWII, the coal industry was nationalised with the establishment of the National Coal Board in 1946. In 1987, it was renamed as the British Coal Corporation and later its assets were privatised. In 1994, the newly established Coal Authority assumed control over the management and licensing of coal mines and other management issues.
The following sources will assist in researching coalmining ancestors:
Colliery Personnel Records
Coalminers had few employment rights and therefore coalmine owners had little need to keep records of those in their employ in the 19th century. The frequent movement of the miners between pits has resulted in very few extant employment records. As coalmining evolved into a more permanent means of earning a living, the personnel records increased in the quality and coverage. If the name of the colliery is known, the local record office should hold employment records. If the colliery is not known, then the records of the surrounding collieries will have to be consulted. The Durham Mining Museum has a useful finding aid on its web site which allows the user to locate local collieries within a five mile radius of that colliery or an address.
Poor Relief Records
Many miners lived in poverty and were likely to be recipients of some form of social assistance. Details on a miner ancestor might be found amongst the records of the Overseers of the Poor and later the Poor Law Unions.
Accident Records
Many of the records relate to the high amount of accidents with frequent deaths that occurred in a notoriously dangerous industry. The records generated from a mining disaster are detailed in the official enquiry reports. Within the report the names of the deceased and their occupations will be mentioned. Local and national newspapers will also provide some additional information on a mining accident. Many deaths took place on a weekly basis that were not recorded amongst the official disaster inquiries. The Coal Mining History Resource Centre web site maintains the National Database of Mining Deaths in Great Britain. The database contains the names of over 120,000 people killed in mining accidents from 1850 to 1972. The web site has a number of other useful resources such as a list of coalmines and mining disaster reports.
The many mining history societies and museums provide background material into the daily lives of mining ancestors and trade union records could give further biographical information on a person.
The Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory began publishing in 1922 and was published annually until 1964 when it became a directory for the coal distributive trade. It listed all collieries in production, their location, numbers of workers employed and seams worked.
Also see
Apprenticeship Agreements, Trade
Apprenticeship Indentures, Parish
Directories, Trade, Professional, Telephone & Street
Friendly & Fraternal Society Records
Guilds, Freedoms & Freemen’s or Burgess Rolls
Occupational and Labour Records (Includes links and guidance on calculating historical wage rates and the cost of living)
Trade Union Records
Where Found
The National Archives
Series COAL, 1884-1997. Records created or inherited by the National Coal Board and of related bodies concerning the coal industry including nationalised coal board and inspectors’ reports into mining disasters and surveys, maps and photographs.
County Record Offices
Holdings may include individual colliery and mining company records including deposited personnel files.
Parliamentary Archives
The archives holds parliamentary papers dealing with the coal industry.
National Coal Mining Museum Library
The Library is home to a wealth of information on the history of coal mining in England. Whether your research is geographical or technical, or you’re interested in learning about the social, economic and political aspects of the industry. The collection holds current and historic mining journals, along with publications dating back to the 1700s.
Durham Record Office
The archives holds records of mining unions and employers’ associations like the Durham Miners’ Association. It also holds information about collieries in the Durham coalfield from about 1850 to 1990. Includes mine opening, closure or operating dates, and details of mine owners before nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947. Use the Mining Durham’s Hidden Depths database to find information about over 140,000 colliery personnel from the Durham Miners’ Association union records and other sources in the Record Office.
National Mining Museum Scotland
The collections at the museum comprise over 60,000 items, including objects, archive material, photographs and books. The reference library at the National Mining Museum houses books, journals, trade catalogues and periodicals covering the history of the coal mining industry.
The Coal Authority
Historic Mining Records and Records Management. The Coal Authority holds coal mining data in a national database. This provides information on past and present coal mining. The Coal Authority’s map viewer allows you to view selected coal mining information in your web browser.
South Wales Coalfield Collection
The collection contains records of trade unions, miners’ institutes, co-operative societies and individuals connected with the mining community.
Derbyshire Record Office
Coal Mining Archive Collections. Holdings include: A number of private family and estate collections relating to coal mining on private lands, National Coal Board archives including maps, plans and photos, National Union of Mineworkers Derbyshire Area, company records and trainee registers and photos relating to the ‘Bevin Boys’ who were conscripted to the mines during WWII. The project called Mining the Seams is a project cataloguing and conserving the archives of the National Coal Board for Derbyshire.
Mining Heritage Centre
Coal Authority. The archive holds a rich history of the mining industry and the collieries that have been in operation across Britain, dating back centuries.
Imperial War Museum
The archives holds an extensive collection of material relating to the Bevin Boys conscription scheme, 1943 – 1947, comprising a series of mainly letters written by ex-Bevin Boys and photographs.
Modern Records Centre
Records and archives of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain and National Union of Mineworkers.
Working Class Movement Library
Archives and records of miners’ unions and organisations as well as a large collection about mining and miners strikes.
Period Covered
1750 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Names, addresses, career, employment and dates of death.
Further References
- nderson, Maureen. Northumberland and Cumberland Mining Disasters: Wharncliffe Books, 2009
- Anderson, Maureen. Durham Mining Disasters c1700-1950s: Pen and Sword Books, 2008
- Arnot, Chris. Britain’s Lost Mines: The Vanished Kingdom of the Men who Carved out the Nation’s Wealth: Aurum Press, 2013
- Bates, Denise. Pit Lasses: Women and Girls in Coalmining c.1800-1914: Pen and Sword Books, 2012
- Elliott, Brian. Yorkshire Mining Veterans: Pen and Sword Books, 2005
- Elliott, Brian. South Yorkshire Mining Disasters: Pen and Sword Books, 2006
- Elliott, Brian. South Yorkshire Mining Disasters Volume II: Pen and Sword Books, 2009
- Elliott, Brian. Tracing Your Coalmining Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2014
- Elliott, Brian. Coalminers: Images of the Past: Pen and Sword Books, 2015
- Emery, Norman. The Coalminers of Durham: The History Press, 2009
- Galloway, Robert Lindsay. A History of Coal Mining in Great Britain: David & Charles, 1969
- Mason, Peter Ford. The Pit Sinkers of Northumberland and Durham: The History Press, 2012
- Nadin, Jack. Lancashire Mining Disasters 1835-1910: Wharncliffe Books, 2006
- Tonks, David. My Ancestor Was a Coalminer: Society of Genealogists, 2003
- Vernon, Robert. Mining Heritage Guide: National Association of Mining History Organisations, 2000
Websites
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Mines and Mining. This guide will direct you to the most appropriate records for researching government involvement in the mining industry up to and including the 21st century. Mining records are more likely to be found in records deposited in local record offices.
University of Sunderland
The North East England Mining Archive and Research Centre. The collection contains records from The National Union of Mineworkers Durham Area, The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and the Durham branch of the National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers.
Durham Mining Museum
The site offers information on mine related deaths, memorial rolls, individual collieries and mines.
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
How to find coal miners in your family history. Jonathan Scott digs up some useful resources for anyone researching mines and miners.
Derbyshire Record Office
Finding Coal Mining Ancestors. A guide to using the National Coal Board (NCB) collection to research individual miners and the collieries they worked at, including tips on what to look for in the catalogue and what information different types of records may contain.
Unlock Your Past
Tracing your old coal miner. Do you have an old coal miner in your family tree? If your family came from the central belt of Scotland, the answer might be yes.
Coal Authority
Coal mining records, data, deeds and documents. How to get data and documents held by the Coal Authority. Advise and information on obtaining coal related material such as: digitally scanned historic mine plans; Collection of old British Coal photographs from a wide range of collieries; Coal holdings Register which dealt with the transfer in ownership of coal prior to the nationalisation of the Coal Industry; Coal Authority’s licence register; Property deeds and documents. The site also has links to other coal related resources and site.
The Mining Institute
Links and resources covering mining history resources, archives and museums and heritage mines.
Scottish Mining Website
The site provides information on the history of Scottish mining compiled from old reports, gazetteers and newspaper articles. The site includes information on all aspects of life in mining towns and villages from working conditions, accidents and strikes to housing, health and leisure. The site contains more than 22,000 names of those involved in the coal, iron and shale mining industries in Scotland, including over 15,000 fatalities.
National Mining Museum Scotland
Archives & Reference Library. The reference library houses mining books, journals, trade catalogues and periodicals as well as the archive of the Lothian Coal Company. They also have a collection of over 17,000 photographs covering the history of the Scottish collieries and their communities.
National Coal Mining Museum
The museum offers a comprehensive exploration of the history and culture surrounding coalmining. It showcases 180 years of mining heritage, focusing on the lives of miners and their communities. The mining collections delve into generations of coal-mining stories through objects, images and art.
Durham Record Office
Coal Mining and Durham Collieries. Information about mining history and coal mining records in Durham County Record Office. Find out how to search our collections and online indexes to Durham Collieries and Durham miners.
Grace’s Guide
Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. The aim is to provide a brief history of the companies, products and people who were instrumental in industry. The site includes a section on Colliers.
Tyne & Wear Archives User Guide
Coal Industry Part 1. This User Guide details the various types of records relevant to a study of the history of the North-East coal industry.
Tyne & Wear Archives User Guide
Individual Collieries. This User Guide details records relating to individual Collieries.
Mining Heritage
Coal Mining Culture in the East Midlands. The site focuses on preserving and promoting the coal mining heritage of the East Midlands, particularly through events, exhibitions and community engagement. The interactive map shows collieries active in the East Midlands from 1965 to 2015.
Coalmining History Resource Centre
The site offers extensive information about the history of coalmining in the UK. It hosts the National Database of Mining Deaths in Great Britain which includes over 164,000 recorded accidents and deaths related to coalmining. The site has a useful Glossary of Mining Terms which details technical terms in use in the Newcastle and UK collieries from 1841.
The Bevin Boys Association
The association is dedicated to the memory of the young men between the ages of 18 and 25 who were conscripted from 1943 until 1948 to work in the coal mines rather than serve in the armed forces. They are known as ‘Bevin Boys’ after Ernest Bevin, the then Minister for Labour and National Service who launched the scheme.
Big Pit National Coal Museum
The museum is an interactive museum located in a real coal mine in Blaenafon, Wales and is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the rich history of coal mining in the region. The museum offers a variety of experiences related to the coal mining industry including exhibitions in the pithead baths and historic colliery buildings.
National Records of Scotland Guide
Coal Mining Records. This guide covers the records of the National Coal Board which include the records of earlier coal companies and references to mining in other record series.
RootsWeb
List of mines in Great Britain and the Isle of Man, 1908.
Welsh Mines Preservation Trust
The trust is dedicated to the preservation of the history and heritage of the Welsh metal mining and slate industry.
Welsh Coal Mines
Historical accounts and records of Welsh coalfields and collieries. The site also has a glossary of mining terms and their meanings.
NAMHO
The National Association of Mining History Organisations. The organisation was formed in 1979 to act as the national body for mining history in the UK and Ireland in order to promote education and research in Mining History.
Nicholas Wood Memorial Library
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. A resource guide to help identify those who worked in the coalmines.
Online Databases
Durham Mining Museum
Resources include lists of mines, maps, names of miners, images of original documents and names of those killed in accidents.
Durham Record Office
Mining Durham’s Hidden Depths. Search an index to over 200,000 miners named in the Durham Miners’ Association records and other collections at Durham Record Office.
Northern Mine Research Society
The society is dedicated to the preservation and recording of mining history. Resources include an interactive online map of a database of over 23,000 Collieries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland; A Listing of National Coal Board operated collieries covering England, Scotland and Wales from 1947; a Mining History Database giving an index of sources for mining history running to over 76,000 entries; An Accidents and Disasters database arranged by country and then county; a database of dissolved Joint Stock Coal Mining Companies.
Ancestry
UK, Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths Index, 1878-1951. This indexed collection provides the names of people who were injured or killed while working in mines between 1878 and 1951. The entries for each person state whether the event was an injury or a death with a brief description of the event.
Findmypast
England, Mining Disaster Victims. Discover the names and circumstances of those who died in mining accidents covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire. Expect to find their name, birth year, age, event date, colliery and incident details. The collection has been obtained from the Alan Beales Database of Fatalities in the Coal Fields.
Findmypast
Yorkshire, Sheffield Social and Institutional Records 1558-1939. Upton Colliery signing-in book, 1936-1939.
Oaks Disaster Victims
Search the names of the men and boys killed in the 1866 Oaks Colliery Disaster, Barnsley.
Scottish Mining Website
Fatal Accidents and Disasters database. The lists of names were compiled by the authors from a number of sources including Inspectors of Mines reports, newspaper articles, Fatal Accident Inquiry records and death certificates.
CD Roms
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